Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic highlighted today the great financial importance of the regional cooperation in energy sector and stated that Southeast European countries should use the opportunity given by the Connecting Europe Facility worth €50bn to build necessary infrastructure.
Speaking at the Energy, Democracy, Development Regional Conference Djelic stressed that this EU fund is available to non-member countries and added that Serbia could cooperate with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Romania in the construction of hydroelectric power plants.
In its last report the European Commission commended our country for adoption of the new Law on Energy, reiterated the Deputy Prime Minister.
As long as Serbia’s energy efficiency is poor and dependant on the import of primary energy resources and the production of the renewable energy is insufficient, there will be pressure on the national currency exchange rate, Djelic explained.
Each euro invested in energy efficiency and the energy sector will contribute to Serbia’s competitiveness on the market, stability of the national currency, and macroeconomic stability, Djelic pointed out.
Serbian Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic stated that the new Law on Energy enables liberalisation of the whole energy market.
Djukic-Dejanovic explained that the law enables reformation and restructuring of the energy sector which will give Serbia efficient energy companies to propel economic growth.
The future of the energy sector in Southeastern Europe lies in the integration of the oil, gas and electricity markets, which will solve the problems too big for the countries to solve them by themselves, she stated.
German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas pointed out that since 2000 Germany has invested more than €500m in Serbia’s energy sector, adding that the energy policy is essential for cooperation between Serbia and Germany.
Source balkans.com
